


When The War Ends

by FandomLovingFreak



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Battle of Hogwarts, F/M, Hogwarts, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I literally sobbed over this a few times because Fred's death makes me sad, Sad Ending, Second Wizarding War, Song Lyrics, Song fic, george weasley x reader - Freeform, sad fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:35:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLovingFreak/pseuds/FandomLovingFreak
Summary: Moments in the months leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts.Fred was her light when darkness seemed to suffocate her.
Relationships: Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley/Reader
Kudos: 20





	When The War Ends

His fingers brush against mine as we lay in the summer's final hours. Soon the warmth of the darkest summer I've ever experienced will fade into crisp fall, which will fade into frigid winter-- The cycle never-ending. Yet, the impending war has dampened the summer's usual brightness substantially for all. Despite the overall tone of fear, this man lying in the yellowing grasses next to me has kept our little bubble in the world reasonably sunny. Fred somehow always knows how to make the most frightening days a little rosier by making a joke or handpicking me flowers from his mother's garden. Even a simple kiss applied to my cheek, forehead, or lips from Fred raises my energy.  
After his brother, Harry, and Hermione had left, the fear had spiked in all of us. This war had well been on its way for years, but with the three of them off hunting for the only way we knew how to defeat the Dark Lord... It was blatantly apparent that we were in the middle of something that we couldn't escape. No matter how many jokes Fred told, we were in a reality that was far from ideal.   
Luckily, I could pretend with him. We could be okay, happy even in these small moments pretending to be an average couple in ordinary times. No threat of pain, death, or doom casting a long shadow on our supposed futures. It is easier to pretend, especially when his fingers brush against mine like this as he looks over to me, a goofy grin on his handsome face. The world seems brighter when he wore that smile.  
"When the war ends," he promises. A future once the fighting subsides. He lights a flame of hope in my heart that will see the war's end. That we'll get to grow old together out of this shadow.

The world seems to grow darker with every passing day. The colors that used to stain the world in magic seem to fade with each death, kidnapping, or rumor we hear about Harry, Ron, and Hermione's whereabouts. I plead with the universe every morning and night that they'll come back alive. That we all will. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of them out there alone.  
I take to sleeping in his small bed with him at night. No one questions us when I sneak into his room from Ginny's one week. I suppose they, like myself, are afraid of the future. What does it matter if we hold each other at night? There's a war happening outside these walls; we deserve to feel loved for the time we have now. No one's promised tomorrow.  
The darkness seems to gulp us up at night. Fred's arms and the steady rise and fall of his chest ground me, keeping me from floating into misery. I'm protected in his arms. No one and nothing can or will take me away, and the darkness won't swallow me. Fred is my source of light when I feel lost in this endless stretch of days.  
I snuggle up closer to his chest, drifting into a dreamless sleep, knowing that I am anchored by him.

"I'm scared," I whisper as we reach the tunnel that would lead us towards Hogwarts.  
"Don't be," Fred's cold fingers brush against my cheek, "You're safe with me." He leans down to kiss my lips, pulling back to look me in the eyes. "You're always safe with me."

I feel uneasy as the fighting dies down for the time being as we wait for what happens next. I'd been separated from Fred during a duel with a Death Eater that had resulted in a large part of a corridor falling between us. The collapse had given me minor cuts and bruises, and I had been somewhat cut off from the rest of the fighting.  
I wander into the corridor leading to the Great Hall, noticing quite a few people have congregated there. Orange hair clusters together in one corner of the room. I can't make out Fred from this distance. I walk forwards, fear creeping up my spine with each step as I plead silently that Fred's sitting down behind his family, and that's why I can't pick him out of the group.  
I hear Molly's sobs before I see anything. Icey coldness drowns my body from the inside as I see a limp foot between Molly and George's bodies as they kneel.  
My mouth is dry as I open and shut it stupidly. I can't form words, nor can I move. I'm frozen ten feet from the grieving family like a damn statue.   
Arthur's the first to notice my presence behind them. In an instant, I know what's happened. I can tell from just that look that I can plead with the universe all I want, but she will not be granting me this. Arthur moves towards me in what feels like slow motion. I feel like I'm free-falling before Arthur's arms catch me, keeping me from being swallowed into the stone floor. The world shatters as a strangled sob escapes my lips.  
"I've got you." Arthur's voice seems far away as I melt into my despair, slipping into the darkness that Fred had rescued me from for the past year.   
I hardly notice when Arthur lets George pull me into his embrace. I'm numb, only aware of my own despair and the feeling of George's sobs as they wrack his body.   
"I need to see him," I whisper against his chest.   
Suddenly I'm there, kneeling in front of the body. Seeing him stings in a new way. Sitting in front of his still body was concrete proof that this was reality, but it could have just been a nightmare from ten feet away.   
I squeeze my eyes tight, tears spilling down my cheeks. I open them again, reaching with a shaky hand towards his frozen face.   
"Freddie--" I choke on another sob as I move away a strand of stray hair from his forehead. My fingers trace down his cheek as more tears spill. I claw at his shirt, covering his torso with my own. I let my numbness fade, the pain lacing every fiber of my being as I cry out for him. Beg him to come back to me.  
My heart is laid out in front of my body on the hard stone floor, never to beat again.

Harry lies dead in Hagrid's arms. I feel my stomach drop.  
No. No, it can't be true... this can't--all this death can't be for nothing. Harry was--Fred is dead.   
Chaos breaks out as Neville breaks free from Voldemort's Body-bind curse. I try to dart forwards, but George is quicker, catching me before I can put myself in harm's way. "What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed." He drags me behind a stone column, shielding us from the fighting.  
"I don't care anymore!" I try to free myself from Fred's brother's grip, "I want to be with him. I don't care if I die--"  
"You're not dying today." he turns me around to face him. His hands are firm on my arms. My face is covered in tears and blood, probably snot as well. I don't care. "that's not what he would've wanted."  
"Please, George," I sob, "please. I can't--"   
He shakes me gently, "I am not losing my brother and you all in one day."

I rest my head against George's shoulder. It's all over. The fighting, the death--It's over. Peace caresses the crumbled walls of Hogwarts as we sit in its wreckage, bodies bruised, and hearts sore.  
"Are you injured?" George's voice is tired. I feel the same.  
Shaking my head no, I find my own voice, "My body will heal." But my heart--my heart is another story. It's been mangled by loss.

The summer's breeze brushes against my exposed skin. It happily dances across the green grasses trying to persuade me to dance with it. Instead, I kneel down in front of the tombstone, brushing my fingers against the engraved letters of his name. My throat feels tight as my vision grows significantly blurry with tears. I close my eyes, biting my lip to keep the sob from bubbling up my throat.   
Opening my eyes, I drop my hand down to the fresh grass. It's grown so much in the last months, covering the once exposed dirt in new life. "Hi, Freddie..." I slowly lower my body down to the ground. The solid earth embraces me as I talk with him.   
I tell him about the things he's missed, the way things are slowly but surely becoming beautiful in our world again. How George and I have gotten part of the shop back in order. I tell him I think of him every day and that I wear his sweaters to bed every night. I tell him he'll never be forgotten as long as I'm alive. I'll continue to come back to his grave every week until my legs won't allow it. I promise him someday I'll see him again. That we'll be together finally. Wait for me, Freddie...Promise you'll wait for me.  
But most of all, I assure him that I will try to be happy specifically for him. But he has to be patient with me. I know someday it'll be easier. Just give me time. Someday my sorrow will lessen, and I will be able to laugh and smile alongside the people I love again. I'll delight in laughter so much it'll make up for the joy he should be blessing our lives with.  
The wind's warmth caresses my cheek, and I know Fred is listening.

**Author's Note:**

> I've got soulful days to counter evil ways  
> Will we need it?  
> Will we need it?  
> When the war ends, yeah  
> We'll wonder what it was about  
> And when we grow old, yeah
> 
> \- Portugal. The Man


End file.
